Motifs in Context

This piece evolved from a discussion with one of my knitting friends (SusStrickArt - you can follow her on Ravelry or Instagram).  She has a gorgeous knitting and design style that is completely different from my own. She creates exquisitely tailored garments with beautiful details, while I prefer bold geometric patterns in smaller pieces or accessories..

Last year, she suggested a design cooperation - in that I would do some sort of flower motif that would be placed in the context of a well-finished garment ... the flower squares used here were my first "try" that I liked it so much that I published it as a separate pattern (my Hana Coasters). Even though this square didn't make it into our cooperation, I used it (and the general idea) in this top as a side panel - using similar constructions and calculations as in my No Assembly Required Top.

We actually DID publish a joint design (the Japanese Blossom Cardigan) in April 2026 - using a different flower motif.

So, here's a blog post that describes how to create something similar yourself. Please note, that this is NOT A FULL KNITTING PATTERN, but a "only" a description / tutorial. However, there are some illustrations that explain the construction and I will give you the numbers and calculation (written in violet) for the top that I knitted.

To produce something similar you can of course use other square motifs (knitted or crocheted) instead - I can imagine that even crocheted Granny Squares might look interesting as a side panel.

Materials

• yarn - I used fingering weight cotton yarn, specifically Fraya colorful - here's a link to the yarn's Ravelry page
• about 225 grams of the main color (blue in title picture) 
• about 25 grams of the contrast color (white in title picture)
• knitting needles - and a second needle (the same size or a bit smaller in size): to knit I used 2.75mm needles (as a second needle (e.g. to pick up stitches from an edge) I used 2mm needles 
• some stitch markers
• scrap yarn - for provisional CO, to secure stitches that will be needed later and as markers
• a crochet hook for the provisional CO that suits the yarn (I used a 2.5mm hook)
• a tapestry needle for grafting
• pen and paper - because you need to write down your measurements and calculations and you absolutely need to take notes while you are knitting (e.g. to make the garment symmetrical in shape)

Techniques / Definitions

• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provision CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by VeryPinkKnits.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.
• Picking up stitches from the edge and joining as you go: to attach the first stitch of one row to the edge stitch of the row opposite, slip the last stitch and insert the right needle in a loop from the opposite side, reinsert the left needle into the last 2 loops and knit them together (like doing a ssk) - a similar method is shown in this video: http://youtu.be/3zPXZ4cu66
• Pick up stitches - as opposed to pick up and knit, as shown in this YouTube video by Knit Purl Hunter
• Seaming garter stitch - shown in this YouTube video by VeryPinkKnits. This is needed for creating the side panels if you use a garter stitch motif - like I did.
• Icelandic bind off (which I used for binding off my sleeves) - shown in this YouTube video by VeryPinkKnits
• Reverse Single Crochet (Crab Stitch): a crochet stitch that makes for a lovely edging - shown in this YouTube video by Tamara Kelly - Moogly
• One garter stitch ridge equals two rows of garter stitch

Instructions

• Create your side panels, i.e. knit or crochet your motifs (illustration A) and sew them up to a strip (illustration B). Make sure that they stack up to a length that corresponds to the measured length from under your arm to the hem of piece. As you can see on illustration A, I added two stitches on opposite sides of my Hana squares to make them longer (rectangles rather than squares). Alternatively, you can add knitted / crocheted strips between your motifs.

• Knit a swatch. If your side panel pieces are knitted and you are brave, you may use the side panel pieces to count your stitch/rows to centimeter ratio, but usually a real swatch is more reliable.
  
• Take the following measures and measure the width of your side panel. 

B = width of the shoulder seam

C = half of the width of neckline

D = a quarter of the waist circumference

E = half of your front measurement at bust height

E' =  half of your back measurement at bust height

F = a quarter of your hip circumference

U = a quarter of your underarm circumference

G = from shoulder to neckline (back)

H = from shoulder to neckline (front)

I = from shoulder to right under your arm

J = from shoulder to bust

K = from shoulder to waist

L = from shoulder to hip (total length of the garment)

S = half the width of your sidepanel (not in schematic) 

• Calculate the number of necessary stitches for each vertical measurement and calculate the number of necessary ridges (1 garter stitch ridge = 2 rows of garter stitch) for the sideways measurements. Make sure to subtract the S (half the width of the sidepanel) from  F, D, E, E', U - to take the side panel into account. I also calculated the difference of ridges that I would need at every height (hem, waist, underarm, bust) because that gives the amount of short rows that have to be included in the garment.
• Now you can start knitting the back piece: From the side panel pick up and knit the number of stitches that corresponds with L-I (i.e. hem of garment up to right under the arm). On another needle use your scrap yarn to do a provisional CO of the number of stitches that corresponds with I. Using the needle with the picked up stitches continue to knit the stitches of the provisional CO so that you have a row of stitches that corresponds to L (your piece now looks like illustration C). The piece will be knitted sideways similar to the the No Assembly Required Top. I inserted two markers on the WS row: one at waist height and one a underarm height. This pickup row and its WS row are ridge 1.
• According to your measurements add short rows to create shape at the hem and underarm. When you have reached the shoulder width at the top, start decreases at the top in order to get your desired neckline. Take notes while you are knitting. I did all my shaping in the beginning - after I had finished the shaping (waist, bust, hips), I placed a stitch marker marking the row, to make counting the straight rows (without short rows) easier.
  
• Knit until you have reached half of your back piece. Then according to your notes, knit a mirror image of the first half. Again, I marked the row to make counting from the middle easier. On illustration D you can see these markers: the white one marks the middle of the back piece, the two pink ones mark the end/beginning of the shaping short rows.
• When your next row would be the mirror row to ridge 1, do the following: 
• knit RS, then knit WS up until the underarm measure
• put the (just knitted) stitches from shoulder to underarm on a stitch holder (e.g. scrap yarn)
• with another needle pick up (NOT pick up and knit) stitches from the side of your second sidepanel - make sure to pick up the same number of stitches as you did on the first side panel (or the number of stitches that corresponds to L-I) - see illustration D
• cut your working yarn leaving a tail long enough for grafting and graft the remaining stitches of your back piece and the newly picked up stitches togethe

• Now you have finished the back piece with two connected side panels.
• The front piece is knitted similar to the back piece - however the shaping around the bust and the neckline will be different. This means you start by picking up stitches from the side of the second side panel (again this should be the number of stitches that corresponds to L-I). Do a provisional CO of L stitches on another needle and make a continuous row of your picked up stitches with the stitches of the provisional CO. Since there will probably a bit more shaping around the bust on the front, put in three stitch markers: at underarm height, at bust height and a waist height while knitting the WS of the pick-up row. Again, this pickup row and its WS row are ridge 1.
• According to your measurements add short rows to create shaping around bust, hem and underarm. Again, when you have reached the shoulder width at the top, start decreases at the top in order to get your desired neckline. Make sure that the number of ridges at your shoulder seam is the same in the front as on the back piece.
• As in the back piece - once you finished half of the front - place a marker and knit the mirror image of the first half. Your piece will look similar to illustration E.
• When your next row would be the mirror row to ridge 1, do the following: 
• knit RS, then knit WS up until the underarm measure
• put the (just knitted) stitches from shoulder to underarm on a stitch holder (e.g. scrap yarn)
• with another needle pick up (NOT pick up and knit) stitches from the unused side of your first sidepanel - make sure to pick up the same number of stitches as you did on the first side panel (or the number of stitches that corresponds to L-I) - see illustration F 
• cut your working yarn leaving a tail long enough for grafting and graft the remaining stitches of your back piece and the newly picked up stitches together.

• You now have finished the main body pieces.
• Now sew up the shoulder sleeves using the method for seaming garter stitch that is shown in the video linked above.
• Your piece now already looks like a top (similar to photo G). Around the armholes you can still see the scrap yarn used for the provisional CO and as a stitch holder.
• For one sleeve pick up the stitches of  the provisional CO and the stitch holder on one needle - and placed a marker between them, i.e. at the top of the shoulder seam (see illustration H). To avoid a hole at the top, I picked up an additional stitch there.

• The sleeves will now be knitted back and forth on this needle - afterwards the edge stitches will be attached to the upper edge of the side panel. Therefore the number of rows (edge stitches) is limited to the available edge stitches of the motif. I added a few short rows to make the sleeves a bit longer and a few decreases at the top and the beginning/end of the row to achieve a curve around the shoulders. Again, take notes while knitting a sleeve to knit the second one to match.
• Bind off the sleeve and sew the edge stitches of the sleeve to the upper edge of the side panel - photo I.
• Knit a second sleeve and sew it to its side panel.
• To smooth the curve of your neckline, finish it with a crochet edge - I used crab stitch (see photo J)
• Weave in ends and remove all remaining markers.

Now some numbers and instructions for the piece I knitted - with my measurements and my gauge (10 cm, about 21,5 ridges) I needed the following ridges/stitches:

S = half the width of your sidepanel: 5 cm; 12 ridges

B = width of the shoulder seam: 17 ridges

C = half of the width of neckline: 9 cm; 20 ridges

D = a quarter of the waist circumference: 20 cm - 5 cm (S: half of  sidepanel) 15 cm: 32 ridges

E = half of your front measurement at bust height: 25 cm - 5 cm (S) = 20 cm: 43 ridges

E' =  half of your back measurement at bust height: 22 cm - 5 (S) = 17 cm: 37 ridges

F = a quarter of your hip circumference: 25 cm - 5 cm (S) = 20 cm: 43 ridges

U = a quarter of your underarm circumference: 22 cm - 5 (S) = 17 cm: 37 ridges

G = from shoulder to neckline (back): 6 sts

H = from shoulder to neckline (front): 30 sts

I = from shoulder to right under your arm: 47 sts

J = from shoulder to bust: 47 sts + 17 sts

K = from shoulder to waist: 47 + 17 + 38

L = from shoulder to hip (total length of the garment): 47 + 86 sts

I also calculated the differences of ridges, i.e.

• waist (32) / bottom hemline (43): 43-32 = 11, i.e. there have to be 11 more ridges at the bottom hem than at waist height
• waist (32) / underarm (37): 37 - 32 = 5 , i.e. there have to be 5 more ridges at the bottom hem than at waist height
• waist (32) / front-bust (43): 43-32 = 11, i.e. there have to be 11 more ridges at the bust heigh (on the front) than at waist height

Back

After creating the first side panel (photo B), I picked up 86 stitches along the long side, knitted (from a different needle) a provisional CO of 47 stitches and knitted all stitches on WS (photo C) while putting in marker 2 (M2) 47 stitches from the top (underarm) and marker 1 (M1) 55 stitches further along (31 stitches away from the bottom hem) - that was my Ridge 1.

Then I started knitting the main back part and included short rows for shaping:

Ridge 2: (RS) k to 4 sts bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to 12 sts bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to M2, k40, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to end

//with the short rows in this ridge the width at the hemline is two ridges wider than the waist and the underarm/shoulder is one ridge wider than the waist

Ridge 3: (RS) k to 20 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k all, turn (WS) k to M2, k30, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to end

Ridge 4: (RS) k to 8 sts bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to 16 sts bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to M2, k20, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to end

Ridge 5: (RS) k to 2 sts bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to 10 sts bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to M2, k35, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to end

Ridge 6: (RS) k to 18 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k all, turn (WS) k to M2, k25, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to end

//now there are 5 more ridges at underarm/shoulder height than at the waist, so no more short rows have to be added here

Ridge 7: (RS) k to 24 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k all, turn (WS) k all

Ridge 8: (RS) k to 5 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k all, turn (WS) k all

Ridge 9: (RS) k to 13 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k all, turn (WS) k all

//now there are 11 more ridges at the bottom hem than at the waist, i.e. no more short rows have to be added here 

Ridge 10:  (RS) k all, turn (WS) k all

Ridges 11 and 12 = Ridge 10

//now the shoulder seam is 17 ridges wide, i.e. the neckline can be started,

Ridge 13: (RS) k all, turn (WS) BO3, k to end

Ridge 14: (RS) k to last 2 sts, k2tog, turn (WS) k all

Ridge 15: (RS) k to last 2 sts, k2tog, turn (WS) k all

Ridges 16 = Ridge 10

Ridge 17: (RS) k to last 2 sts, k2tog, turn (WS) k all

//now the neckline is deep enough (6 stitches) - so the rows until the middle of the back are just plain garter stitch, i.e. 

Ridges 18 - 32 = Ridge 10

//now the middle of the back piece has been reached - all following ridges are the ones knitted before but in the opposite order. but when there is a decrease (k2tog) in the first half, do an increase (kfb) and when there is a BO do a CO.

When I had reached the "mirror" of ridge 1, I did the following: I knitted RS, than I knitted WS up to the M2 (the underarm marker) and put these 47 stitches on a stitch holder, with another needle I picked up 86 stitches from the long edge of the second sidepanel. 

I cut my yarn (leaving a tail) and grafted both rows of 86 stitches together in garter stitch (holding the side panel on the front needle).

Front

From the second side panel, I picked up the same number of stitches than for the back part (86 stitches) along the long side, and knitted (from a different needle) a provisional CO of 47 stitches and knitted all stitches on WS (photo C) while putting in marker 2 (M3) 47 stitches from the top (underarm) and marker 2 (M2, bust height) 17 stitches further along, and (M1) 38 stitches further along (31 stitch from the bottom hem) - that was my Ridge 1.

Then I started knitting the main front part and included short rows for shaping:

Ridge 2: (RS) k to 4 sts bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to 10 sts bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to M2, k30, w+t

    (RS) k to M2, k12, w+t (WS) k to M2, k20, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to end

//with the short rows of this ridge the width at the hemline is two ridges wider than the waist and the underarm/shoulder is one ridge wider than the waist and the bust is two ridges wider than the waist 

Ridge 3: (RS) k to 16 sts bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to 22 sts bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to M2, k10, w+t

    (RS) k to M2, k10, w+t (WS) k to M2, k7, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to end

Ridge 4: (RS) k to 2 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end
    (RS) k to 8 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end
    (RS) k to end, turn, (WS) k to M2, k25, w+t,
    (RS) k to M2, k5, w+t, (WS) k to M2, k15, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn, (WS) k to end

Ridge 5: (RS) k to 14 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to 20 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end
    (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k to M2, k5, w+t
    (RS) k to M2, k14, w+t, (WS) k to M2, k9, w+t
    (RS) k to end, turn, (WS) k to end

Ridge 6: (RS) k to 26 bef M1, w+t, (WS), k to end
    (RS) k to 6 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to M2, k10, w+t, (WS) k to M2, k13, w+t
    (RS) k to M2, k7, w+t, (WS) k to M2, k17, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn, (WS) k all

Ridge 7: (RS) k to 12 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k to M2, k21, w+t,

    (RS) k to end, turn, (WS) k all

Ridge 8: (RS) k to 18 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to M2, k8, w+t, (WS) k to M2, k23, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn, (WS) k all

Ridge 9: (RS) k to 24 bef M1, w+t, (WS) k to end

    (RS) k to M2, k5, w+t, (WS) k to M2, k7, w+t

    (RS) k to end, turn, (WS) k all

//now the shaping for the first half of the front is finished, i.e. because of the short rows there are 13 more ridge son the hem, 13 more ridges on the bust height, and 5 more ridges underarm compared to the waist

Ridge 10 - 12: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k all

// now I started the neckline by binding off/decreasing a total of 30 stitches from the top over the next rows in the following pattern: 10-7-4-2-1-1-1-0-1-0-1-0-0-1-0-0-1, i.e.

Ridge 13: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) BO10, k to end

Ridge 14: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) BO7, k to end

Ridge 15: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) BO4, k to end

Ridge 16: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) BO2, k to end

Ridge 17 - 19: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k2tog, k to end

Ridge 20: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k all

Ridge 21: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k2tog, k to end

Ridge 22: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k all

Ridge 23: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k2tog, k to end

Ridge 24 - 25: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k all

Ridge 26: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k2tog, k to end

Ridge 27 - 28: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k all

Ridge 29: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k2tog, k to end

Ridge 31 - 32: (RS) k all, turn, (WS) k all

Having reached the middle of the front half, I knitted these ridges 32 to 2 in opposite order (increasing where there was a decrease and casting on stitches, when I did a bind off before). I then knitted RS of ridge 1 and WS up to the underarm marker.  I put the 47 sleeve stitches on a stitch holder and with another needle I picked up 86 stitches from the long and unused edge of the first sidepanel. Again, I cut my yarn and grafted both rows of 86 stitches together in garter stitch (holding the side panel on the front needle).

Sleeves (very short)

To prepare finishing the sleeves, I sewed up the shoulder seams and put the stitchholder stitches from front and back on one knitting needle - marking the top of the shoulder with a stitch marker. 

Then I knitted both sleeves as follows:

Ridge 1: (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to end

Ridge 2: (RS) k1, k2tog, k to last 3 sts, k2tog k1, turn, (WS) k to marker, k4, w+t,
   (RS) k4, k4, w+t, (WS) k to end

Ridge 3 (RS), k to end, turn, (WS) k to marker, k8, w+t,

   (RS) k8, k8, w+t, (WS) k to end

Ridge 4 (RS) k to 3 bef marker, k2tog, k1, k1, k2tog, k to end, turn, (WS) k to marker, k11, w+t,
   (RS) k11, k11, w+t, (WS) k to end

Ridge 5 (RS), k to end, turn, (WS) k to marker, k15, w+t,

   (RS) k15, k15, w+t, (WS) k to end

Ridge 6 (RS) k to 3 bef marker, k2tog, k1, k1, k2tog, k to end, turn, (WS) k to marker, k18, w+t,
   (RS) k18, k18, w+t, (WS) k to end

Ridge 7 (RS), k to end, turn, (WS) k to marker, k22, w+t,

   (RS) k22, k22, w+t, (WS) k to end

Ridge 8 (RS) k to 3 bef marker, k2tog, k1, k1, k2tog, k to end, turn, (WS) k to marker, k25, w+t,
   (RS) k25, k25, w+t, (WS) k to end

Ridge 9 (RS), k to end, turn, (WS) k to marker, k29, w+t,

   (RS) k29, k29, w+t, (WS) k to end

Ridge 10 (RS) k1, k2tog to 3 bef marker, k2tog, k1, k1, k2tog, k to 3 bef end, k2tog, k1, turn, 

         (WS) k to marker, k32, w+t,
   (RS) k32, k32, w+t, (WS) k to end

Ridge 11: (RS) k to end, turn (WS) k to end

Ridge 12: (RS) k to end, (WS) BO in Icelandic BO

Then I sewed the edge stitches of the sleeves to the upper edge of the side panel (see illustration I)

Finishing

I finished the neckline with a row of crochet in crab stitch.

Japanese Blossom Cardigan

This cardigan is a joint project of SusStrickArt (link to her Ravelry page) and me. We both have very different knitting ideas and none of us would have done this on her own.

The distinctive design features of this cardigan are: The front panels that extend beyond the shoulder and also form the upper part of the back piece and the sewn-on knitted flowers, colour-coordinated with the cardigan, which were previously knitted separately using fingering weight yarn. In addition, it has a scalloped border along the bottom edge and on the sleeves and the beautifully shaped V-neck with an I-cord edge. The result is a a lightweight cardigan designed for german size 36/38 that  can be combined in many ways, from chic to sporty and will quickly become your favorite jacket, not just because it’s so comfortable to wear.

The pattern for the cardigan is available via Ravelry (in english and german)

Please note, this pattern is for the cardigan only. The pattern for the blossoms is available here.

Art Deco Top

One of my favorite TV programs is the Great British Sewing Bee. It's not only very "feel-good" program with lovely contestants, it's also quite inspirational and also provides background information about the history of clothing. So when I saw episode 4 of season 7 of the Great British Sewing Bee (the  year before last) where the contestants had to sew a made to measure inspired by Frida Kahlo and especially the huipils that some of their designs were based on, I wanted to make something similar in knitting.

Even though the inspiration came (in a very roundabout manner) from Frida Kahlo and mexican Huipil garments, my finished top didn't look like it at all. And when somebody on Instagram said the top reminded them of Art Deco patterns, I loved it and it stuck as a name.

This is a boxy top with a round neckline, short sleeves and side slits at the bottom edge. It is started with a magic CO in the middle and knitted outwards to the side and bottom seams.

As with many of my sweater/top "patterns", this is NOT a row-by-row pattern for various sizes, but rather a rough recipe of the ideas behind the construction of this garment. I will give the numbers I used for myself as an example in purple.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Materials

• yarn: I used a total of 300 grams of Sports weight yarn, the purple yarn was from my first attempt of my Garter Stitch Summer top - that eventually got frogged, the orange yarn was leftovers from my Eifel Cowl - I can imagine that it would also look nice to knit the whole top in one variegated yarn
• knitting needles: I used 3.5mm  circulars, (three pairs of circular needles, in the when front or back piece got big enough - one for each of the three edges)
• a crochet hook of about the same size - for a crochet CO and for crocheting the neckline edge 
• scrap yarn - as a stitch holder
• stitch markers
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques & Definitions

• Judy's Magic Cast-On is a technique that gives you live stitches on both sides of your needle - it is generally used for toe-up socks, but it can be used for other purposes as well. Here's a written description (from Knitty) and here's a YouTube-video by Cat Bordhi and another YouTube-video by Very Pink Knits. 
• Pick up and knit: Picking up stitches from the side edge of your work as shown in this YouTube video by B.Hooked Crochet & Knitting
• kfb: increasing by one stitch - by knitting into the front and back leg of a stitch; it is shown in this YouTube video by Knit Purl Hunter
• kbf: a stitch that is symmetrical to a kfb; e.g. shown in this YouTube-video by Roxanne Richardson: https://youtu.be/OJMya9xaol4  (it's perfectly possible to do a kfb instead, I just prefered the symmetrical look for my stripe pattern)
• Crochet CO: shown in this YouTube video by Knit Purl Hunter
• Reverse Single Crochet (Crab Stitch): a crochet stitch that makes for a lovely edging - shown in this YouTube video by Tamara Kelly - Moogly
• One garter stitch ridge equals two rows of garter stitch

Measuring, Calculating & Construction

The whole top has a boxy construction - based on a rectangles - that may not be the most flattering shape. If you want more shaping you could add short rows (maybe an underarm wedge) - however, this is not described here. Ideas to change the shape and dimensions of the piece can be found below in section "Other sizes".

Schematic - click on picture to enlarge

The top is constructed as follows:

• each part (front & back) starts in the middle of the neckline with a magic CO;
• then you will knit in an angled U-shape around this CO, with increases at the corners that form a rectangular pattern), if you knit according to the instructions, you will add five ridges to the length for each four ridges to the width on each side, i.e. the piece grows downwards and sideways;
• meanwhile at the upper edge (neckline) you add increases to shape the rounded neckline - until you've reached the desired shoulder height; these neckline increases are different for front and back (the front neckline is deeper than the one in the back);
• once you've reached the desired width, you only work on the lower edge to add length, the stitches on the sides are put on stitch holders (scrap yarn)
• when you've finished front and back piece, you sew up the shoulder seams
• for the arms, you pick up the required number of stitches around the shoulder seams (one half from the side seam of the back piece, the other half from the front piece) and knit them in rows
• the sides are seamed up by holding rights sides together and doing a three needle BO
• finally, the underarm seams and shoulder seans need to be sewn up

The picture below shows the measurements that you need to take.

Measurements - click on picture to enlarge

A = neck width
B = shoulder width
C = width of the piece (= A + 2xB)
D_front = neck depth front 
D_back = neck depth back
E_front = length of magic CO front 
E_back = length of magic CO depth back
to get the same overall shape for front and back piece, the front neck depth plus the front CO must equal the back neck depth plus the back CO (D_front + E_front  =  D_back +  E_back)
F = length of main piece (front & back)
G = additional length
H = shoulder to underarm (or half of the arm circumference at the top)
I = arm length

Knitted in garter stitch my yarn/needles combination gave 

• 10 cm in height for 22 ridges (44 rows) and 
• 10 cm in width for 22 sts.

My desired measurements were

A =  about 21 cm, i.e. 45 ridges (i.e. 1 ridge for the magic CO plus 22 on each side, 22x2 + 1)
B =  about 14,5 cm, i.e. 29 ridges
C = 50 cm ( = 2x14,5 + 21)
D_front = 12 cm, i.e. 25 sts
D_back = 4.5 cm, i.e. 11 sts 
E_front = 7.5 cm, i.e. 18 sts
E_back = 15 cm, i.e. 33 sts 
F = 49 cm
G = 4 cm
H  = 21 cm , i.e. 46 sts
I = about 6.5 cm, i.e. 14 ridges

Even though you can adapt the size while knitting, I strongly suggest that you knit a swatch before starting, so that you have a rough idea of the number of stitches necessary (at least for the CO). 

Because of the construction (and the rate the piece grows), I would advise to do choose the magic CO to a length that D_front + E_front  make up for about 40% of the overall length of the piece (that's the distance from the shoulder seams to the lower edge of the magic CO). This aims for C and F being roughly equal.

Another important issue: Make sure to take notes while you're knitting your pieces so that you can reconstruct it later, i.e. so that the back matches the front or the left sleeve matches the right.

Instructions

While you're knitting the main stripe pattern, you will at the same time have to increase along the neckline. Since - depending on your yarn weight and desired size - these issues need to be addressed separately, they are explained separately below. 

Front - Main stripe pattern

You start knitting in the middle of the neckline. I wanted a rounded, wide(-ish) neck and about 12 cm deep. So I "started" the mCO in the knowledge that there would be 25 sts to increase to shape the neckline.

In MC do a magic CO so that there is one stitch more on the top than on the bottom needle (the additional stitch will make up the horizontal line of the pattern (see picture 1, the top needle has one more stitch than the bottom one).

I did a magic CO of 2x18+1 sts (i.e. after the neck increases are added the lower edge of the magic CO is 18 + 25 = 43 sts away from the shoulder seam)

Turn the needle so that you look at the garter stitch bumps (see picture 2), the needle with the additional stitch is still on top, however, the last stitch is not secured. Therefore, before you start knitting twist tail and working yarn once to secure the first stitch of the row (see picture 3). 

In MC

Ridge 1: (RS) top needle, ktbl to last stitch on top needle, kfb, switch to bottom needle, k1, kbf, k to end
    (WS): k to 2 bef end of needle, pm, k2, switch to other needle, k1, pm, k to end

In case of my magic CO this was:
Ridge 1: (RS) ktbl 17, kfb, k1, kbf, k17, turn
    (WS) k18, pm, k3, pm, k18

Ridge 2: (RS) k all, turn
    (WS) k to 1 bef m, kfb, sm, kbf, k to 1 bef m, kfb, sm, kbf, k to end

In CC

Ridge 3 (RS): k all, turn
    (WS) k to 1 bef m, kfb, sm, kbf, k to 1 bef m, kfb, sm, kbf, k to end

in MC

Ridge 4: (RS) k all, turn
    (WS) k to 1 bef m, kfb, sm, kbf, k to 1 bef m, kfb, sm, kbf, k to end
Ridge 5: (RS) k to 1 bef m, kfb, sm, kbf, k to 1 bef m, kfb, sm, kbf, k to end, turn
    (WS) k to m, sm, k to m, turn; (RS) k to m, turn (WS) k to m, sm, pick up one stitch from edge, k to end

Pictures 4 to 6 illustrate how to pick up a stitch in the middle of a row. When knitting row 10 after you've turn for the second time and knitted up to the next marker you find a (short) edge (one ridge high) from which you have to pick up one stitch (see pointer in picture 4). You then insert the needle into that stitch (picture 5) and draw a loop of your working yarn through (picture 6).

The pictures also show that after a few ridges, I put the stitches between the markers (vertical part of the stripe pattern) on another needle. That way the piece is not distorted by being bunched up on two needles only. As the piece grew bigger I switched to 3 sets of circulars - one for each edge. (The "end of needle" did the job of the stitch marker.)

in CC

Ridge 6: (RS) k to m, sm, k to m, sm, pick up one stitch from edge, k to end, turn
    (WS: k to 1 bef m, kfb, sm, kbf, k to 1 bef m, kfb, sm, kbf, k to end

Repeat ridges 4 to 6 until the colored panel is as big as you want it.
Then continue repeating ridges 4 to 6 in MC only.

(It theory, you could do the increases (kfb/kbf) always on RS. The reason I alternated is that it looked better with the stripe pattern, i.e. if you do a kfb in the first row after a color change, you see a little bump of the color below and I wanted to avoid that.)

I knitted 12 repeats, i.e. I knitted 12 CC stripes. Than I added 5 more repeats in MC only.

Front - neckline shaping

WHILE you're knitting the main stripe pattern, you need to increase at the beginning and end of some rows to shape the neckline. Since I wanted a rounded neckline, I started with few increases, raising their number towards the outer edge of the neckline. 

I would advise that - once you calculated the width and height of your neckline - draft the desired shape on graph paper and do your increases accordingly.

The picture below shows the left half of the front neckline and how I distributed the increases - starting from the magic CO.

Neckline Shaping - click on picture to enlarge

Increase in the beginning and end of one row means that I did a kfb at the second and the second to last stitch, i.e.: 
    k1, kfb (instructions for this row until 1 bef end), kfb, k1

At last ridge I did a crochet CO of 9 stitches at the beginning and the end of the row.

Finishing the front piece

If your piece isn't long enough, knit a few more ridges using the stitches of the lower edge.
I lenghtened both pieces by 6 ridges (12 rows) before binding off.

Put the stitches of the side edges on scrap yarn.

Your last row is a WS row.

Back

The back piece is knit similar to the front piece EXCEPT that

• the original magic CO is longer because the back neckline is shallower
• the neckline increases are different

For my piece I wanted a neck depths of 10 sts, therefore I did a magic CO of 2x33 + 1 stitches (i.e. the total distance from the lower edge of the magic CO to the shoulder seam is 33 + 10 = 43 sts - the same as for the front piece.

The picture below shows one half of the back neckline - starting from the magic CO, i.e. the distribution of the back neck increases.

Lengthen the back (knitting rows over the stitches of the lower edge) by the same amount of rows as you did with your front piece.

Put the stitches of the side edges on scrap yarn. 

Your last row is a WS row.

Sleeves

Calculate how many stitches you need for your sleeves. 

For my arms I needed 2x46 sts. So I slipped the calculated number of the uppermost stitches of the right hand side of the front piece (starting from the 46th stitch) and the same number of the uppermost stitches of the right hand side of the back piece (starting from the shoulder) on a back.

Starting on RS of the piece, knit the required number of  rows to reach your desired sleeve length.

Do the same for the other sleeve.

I knitted just very short sleeves, i.e. only 14 ridges per arm before BO.

Finishing

With right sides together, put the left side stitches of front and back pieces from your scrap yarn on knitting needles and do a three needle BO (in my case it was 2 x 59 sts). Do the same with the right side stitches. That does not connect the additional (lengthening) rows you did at the end of the piece - which achieves a nice seam slit effect.

Sew up the open arm seams (underarm).

Sew up the shoulder seams.

If you like, add a crochet border to the neckline; I used the reverse single crochet stitches (also known as crab stitch). 

Weave in all ends.

Other Sizes

In order to adapt this top to other shapes (i.e. other than the square main piece described above) you could for example do the following:

• Start with a longer (shorter) magic CO to get a narrower (wider) rectangular main piece.
• Knit underarm short row triangles (before knitting the sleeves) to shape the piece around the bust; with the wide part on the top right under the arm; then - when starting the sleeves; when you start to knit your sleeves you need to start in the middle of the upper edge of that triangle by picking up stitches from the edge then knit the first row of the sleeve and then picking up stitches from the second half of the short row triangle edge. 
• Knit darts by inserting decreases at breast height towards the last rows of the piece - equally on both vertical edges of the front piece. To make them less obvious, I would start them after finishing the stripe pattern. To make both pieces (front and back) the same underarm length, you need to adapt (decrase) the magic CO of the back piece by decreasing it accordingly, i.e. if there are 5 darts decreases on each edge of the front piece, the magic CO of the back piece needs to be 5 sts shorter.

Semiramis Summer Top

Currently, my knitting motivation is quite low. I don't know whether this is due to a general Covid19 weariness or to other reasons, but I haven't done much lately. Plus, there are about six or seven finished objects for which I haven't written the pattern - or for which there is a half-written pattern that I should finalize or proof-read ... but I just cannot bring myself to do it.

So, about a month ago I thought that I might just knit a simple top and not having to worry about writing a pattern. I always wanted to knit a lace top with thick yarn, so that's what I did  - using quite bulky cotton yarn, that was in my stash. (Actually, it was yarn from a project that I never finished - see this blogpost.)

I searched for interesting lace patterns on the internet and found some beautiful ones at Gannetdesign's blog String Geekery. For this top I used the stitch pattern called Semiramis.

I used about 9,5 skeins of Lang Yarns Cotone (i.e. about 660 metres of yarn) and 6.0mm knitting needles. Basically, I knitted four rectangles (back & front: 50cm by 65cm, and two sleeves: 42 cm by 20cm) and sewed them together. 

The actual knitted worked really well, even though knitting with 6mm needles always seems strange to me - I prefer knitting with 4-ply yarns and the appropriate needles. The sewing part took a bit longer ... :) However, I am rather pleased with the result - even though it is a bit bulky, it's a quite summery top.

Sideways Cardigan

Usually I don't buy bigger amounts of the same yarn unless I have a specific project in mind. However, a few years ago I made an exception when there was a sale at Vilfil (my favorite yarn store in Zurich) and among the items for sale was Noro Furin. At the time I bought a whole pack (10 skeins) - and it was in my stash for quite a long time, because I didn't have a good idea how to use it.
Last year in April, I decided to use it to knit a cardigan - sideways and in one piece because I don't like cutting my yarn or and I like to minimize the finishing work (e.g. sewing pieces together). Plus, with variegated yarn, I don't like the abrupt color changes that can occur when putting on the arms.
In the end it took me to August 2019 to finish knitting it - and to the following January to finally sew up the arms and to attach the buttons. ...  And now it's taken me nearly a year to write down the instructions.  So, here's a tutorial on how to do something similar.

As with my other sweater patterns (e.g. Summer Garter Stitch Top and Waterfall Tunic) this is NOT a stitch-by-stitch pattern with stitch and row counts for various sizes but rather a tutorial on how to do something similar.
You will have to swatch and calculate for yourself. So this cardigan is completely configurable to your wishes and your shape. I will however give you my numbers and calculations as an example (written in purple).

The basic idea for stitch pattern (changing the skein and alternating between garter and stockinette stitch) is stolen from Lanesplitter Skirt by Tina Whitmore - because it is such great way to show off the color changes of the variegated yarn that I used.

This work by Kniting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 

Materials

• yarn, I used about 470 grams of Aran Weight yarn (Noro Furin, colorway 4 - here's a link to the yarn's Ravelry page), 
• straight or circular knitting needles, I used 4.5mm needles - mine were 100 cm long.
• removable stitch markers (safety pins or scrap yarn work fine as well)
• 3 buttons, and sewing needle and thread to sew them on

Techniques

• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits. (Yes, other short row methods works as well.)
• Knitted Cast-On: See this Youtube-video by Very Pink Knits.
• Cable Cast-On: See this Youtube-video by Very Pink Knits.
• Pick up and knit: Picking up stitches from the side edge of your work as shown in this YouTube video by B.Hooked Crochet & Knitting

Construction, Measurements, and Calculations

The cardigan is knitted sideways and in one piece. It starts with the left sleeve is knitted up to the shoulder. Then (with knitted COs on both sides) the piece is widened to create the front and back piece of the cardigan). At each end short rows are used to shape the piece (i.e. to make sure it is wide enough to fit around your waist). When you've reached the width of your shoulder, you bind off the stitches on the front part and start to knit a "back-only" part. This starts with a few decreases at the top to get a round neckline at the neck edge. 

Once you've reached the middle (or centerline), you basically knit everything backwards, i.e. a mirror image of the first half. This means that just before you've reached the intended neckwidith, you  increases at the neck edge, then you do a knitted CO to start the front right part. Then you continue to knit the front and back (right part) at the same time. After a bind off at both sides you knit the right sleeve as a mirror image to the left one.

In the end, you pick up stitches along the inner edge of the front parts and the neckline (green line in figure 1) to knit a collar with button holes.

Figure 1: Construction

You need to take the following measurements:

A = arm circumference at wrist
B = arm circumference at shoulder
C = from shoulder to hip (total length of garment)
D = from under arm to hip (or C-B/2)
E = depth of neckline on the back of the garment

F = arm length
G = width of shoulder seam
H = half of the width of neckline
I = width of one side of the cardigan at your hip (for me H=I/2)
J = width at hip (should be roughly half of your hip circumference)

Figure 2: Measurements

Knit a swatch and calculate the stitch and row numbers according to your measurements!
Alternatively, with a rough idea of your gauge, you can start with the arm piece and use this as your swatch - however, this swatch piece has then not been blocked and/or washed and might be less exact than you'd like it to be ... and maybe you'll need to frog it after knitting half a sleeve (i.e. you've just knitted a bigger swatch ;-(.
So, better just knit a swatch and block it.

Here are my calculations for stitch numbers and ridges - rounded. My swatch measured 18 sts for 10 cm in width and 30 rows (in pattern) for 10 cm in height.

A = 22 cm = 40 sts
B = 42 cm = 72 sts
C = 60 cm = 108 sts
D = 60 cm - 21 cm = 39 cm - or 108 sts - 36 sts = 72 sts
E =  1,5 cm =  3 sts
 
F = 45 cm = 135 rows
G = 10 cm = 30 rows
H = 10 cm = 30 rows
I = 25 cm = 75 rows
J = 50 cm = 150 rows

Before you start ...

• The 2nd half of one piece (right side) is the exact mirror of the 1st part (left side). So it's essential to take notes while you're knitting, in order to be able to knit the same rows in the opposite order (i.e. decreases where you increased, BO where you CO'd etc.)
• Since I am not "busty" I didn't make allowance for bust shaping. This can be done by starting the front side short rows higher up in the rows or by inserting short rows at bust height that act as bust darts (as I did in the No Assembly Required Top).

Instructions

Throughout the pattern you alternate skeins of variegated yarn (skeins S1 and S2).

The basic stitch pattern for the sleeves (without the calculated increases) is:

• two rows in stockinette stitch in S1, 
• two rows in garter stitch (i.e. one garter ridge) in S2, 
• four rows in stockinette stitch in S1, 
• two rows in garter stitch (i.e. one garter ridge) in S2.

Or spelled out: 

Row 1 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 2 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end    // stockinette part, S1
Row 3 (RS), S2): sl1, k to end
Row 4 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end    // garter ridge, S2
Row 5 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 6 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end
Row 7 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 8 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end    // stockinette part, S1
Row 9 (RS), S2): sl1, k to end
Row 10 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end    // garter ridge, S2

The stitch pattern for the body is similar

• two rows in stockinette stitch in S1 - with some (calculated) short rows at the beginning and end of the row
• two rows in garter stitch (i.e. one garter ridge) in S2

So, when you finish a part, make sure that you continue in pattern, i.e. if you've finished the first sleeve on a garter ridge (in S2), start the main body in stockinette (S1) - my examples below might differ from that.

Left Sleeve

CO A stitches with S1
Instead of ribbing, knit several rigdes of garter stitch, alternating the skeins after each ridge.
I did a CO of 46 stitches and knit 4 ridges in garter stitch.

You now have to calculate the increases you have to do in order to reach B stitches at the shoulder.

I wanted to reach 72 stitches at the shoulder, i.e. I had to increase by 13 ((72-46)/2 =  26/2 = 13) on each side (beginning and end of row) - and I had 128 rows to reach that (D=136 rows, minus 8 rows already knitted for the "instead-of-ribbing"). So I decided had to do increases every 10th row (i.e. that would give 130 rows, but this difference (1cm) was OK for me).

Start knitting the stitch pattern above and increase (as calculated at the beginning and end of the rows)

As calculated I knitted the pattern and increased at the beginning and end of every 10th row, i.e. after 130 I had 13x2 = 26 sts more than the CO, i.e. 46+26 = 72 sts.

To help me count the rows of the body part and to measure, I marked the last row of the sleeve with a removable stitch marker.


Body (Back Piece and Two Front Pieces)

Left Half 

Knit the next row, at the end of the row, with a knitted cast-on, CO D stitches for the front.

Then turn, knit back and CO D stitches for the back.

I wanted to add 39 cm to the lenght (added to the sleeve width - back and front), so I CO'd 72 sts on each side.

Since you're knitting sideways and the shoulders are narrower than the piece around the hips, you now have to calculate the amount of short rows to knit at the front and the back. Plus, you have to decide where you want your short rows to end.

The short rows for the front piece are calculated by the ratio of G to I (i.e. shoulder width to width at the hip of one half).
And the short rows for the back piece by the ratio of G+H to J/2 (i.e. shoulder width plus half of the neckline width to half of the width at the hip.

This means, that you have more short rows on the front than on the back.

For the front I had G = 10 cm and I=25 cm, i.e. for each shoulder ridge, I had to knit 2,5 ridges on the lower edge, i.e. a ratio of 1:2,5 or 2:5. 

For the back it was G+H=10+10= 20 cm and J/2 = 50/2 = 25 cm. So I had the ratio of 2:2,5 or 4:5.

I wanted to keep the pattern of 1 garter ridge and stockinette rows inbetween.

So, taking into account the short rows calculated above, I ended up with this pattern, but I varied the points where I did the w+t's a bit.

Row 1 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end
Row 2 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end  // garter stitch ridge
Row 3 (RS), S1): sl1, k to end
Row 4 (WS, S1): sl1, p65, w+t

Row 5 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 6 (WS, S1): sl1, p40, w+t

Row 7 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 8 (WS, S1): sl1, p15, w+t

Row 9 (RS, S1): k to end   

Row 10 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end  // stockinette part with short rows in front

Repeat rows 1 to 10 once, after you've the last row for the 2nd time, continue with 

Row 21 (RS, S1): sl1, k35, w+t

Row 22 (WS, S1): p to end   // stockinette part plus short rows in the back

I knitted these rows 4 times, i.e. until the shoulder was wide enough.

Knit the calculated pattern until you've reach the shoulder width. 

Now you have to BO the stitches on the front part, i.e. knit to the end of an RS row and BO C stitches.

In my case I had to BO 108 sts. So I knitted an RS row, and started the WS with binding off 108 sts.

 

Now that you've reached the neck of the piece and have done a BO of the front stitches, you need to knit only the part of the rows, that is on the back of the cardigan. 

For me that meant skipping the rows that were called row 4 to row 9 in the body pattern above, i.e. the following: 

Row 1 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end
Row 2 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end   // garter stitch ridge
Row 3 (RS), S1): sl1, k to end

Row 4 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end   // stockinette rows

Repeat rows 1 to 4 once more. After you've the last row for the 2nd time, continue with 

Row 9 (RS, S1): sl1, k35, w+t

Row 10 (WS, S1): p to end   // stockinette part plus short rows in the back 

However, if you want to have a slight curve in the back of the neckline, you have to do some decreases at the end of the first RS rows to shape a curve in your neck. 

I wanted a curve that was 1,5 cm deep, so over the first 6 rows, I decreased one stitch every other row, i.e. I knitted up to the last three stitches of a RS row and ended with "ssk, k1".

Knit your calculated pattern until you've reached exactly the centerline of your piece.

I ended on a stockinette row in S2. For a nice symmetry (and to stay "in pattern") I knitted one garter stitch ridge in S1.

Right Half

After reaching the middle of your piece, you basically have to knit a mirror image of the 1st half, i.e. 

• you increase where you decreased before, 
• you to a BO where you did a CO before (and vice versa), 
• you knit the same short rows as before - just in reverse order.

So first you knit the back part only.

For me this meant the following for rows 1 to 10 of the back-only part.

Row 1 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end

Row 2 (WS, S1):, p to end   

Row 3 (RS, S1): sl1, k35, w+t

Row 4 (RS, S1): p to end      // stockinette part plus short rows in the back 

Row 5 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end

Row 6 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end   // garter stitch ridge

Row 7 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end

Row 8 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end   // stockinette rows

Row 9 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end

Row 10 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end      // garter stitch ridge

Plus, just before you finish the back-only part, you need to include some increases at the upper edge (to mirror the decreases you did during the right half.

For me that meant that - starting from the 6th row before I had to do the BO, I increased one stitch every other row, i.e. I knitted up to the last two stitches of a RS row and ended with "kfb, k1".

Then you need to CO the front stitches again, i.e. knit an RS row and then do a knitted CO of the calculated number of stitches.

I knitted an RS row, then continued by casting on 108 stitches 

Knit the same pattern you knitted for the left half in reverse order until you've reached the shoulder width.

For me that meant knitting the following sequence

Row 1 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 2 (WS, S1): sl1, p15, w+t

Row 3 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 4 (WS, S1): sl1, p40, w+t

Row 5 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 6 (WS, S1): sl1, p65, w+t

Row 7 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 8 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end

Row 9 (RS, S1): sl1, k35, w+t

Row 10 (WS, S1): p to end     // stockinette "ridge" with short rows front and back

Row 11 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end
Row 12 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end    // garter ridge

Row 13 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 14 (WS, S1): sl1, p15, w+t

Row 15 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 16 (WS, S1): sl1, p40, w+t

Row 17 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 18 (WS, S1): sl1, p65, w+t

Row 19 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 20 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end    // stockinette "ridge" with short rows only in front 

Row 21 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end
Row 22 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end    // garter ridge

Once you've reached the shoulder width of the right shoulder, knit to the end of the row, turn and BO D stitches (front), and knit to end. Then BO D stitches (back). The number of stitches that you have left now should be exactly the number you had when you finished the first sleeve.

For me that meant:

Row 1: sl1, k to end

Row 2: BO72, k to end

Row 3: BO72

Right Sleeve

The right sleeve is the left sleeve knitted backwards, i.e. knitting the stitch pattern in reverse order and doing decreases where you did increases before.

Knit in pattern (with the decreases) until your right sleeve has the same length than the left.

I knitted the sleeve stitch pattern in reverse order ...

Row 1 (RS), S2): sl1, k to end
Row 2 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end   // garter ridge

Row 3 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 4 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end
Row 5 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 6 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end  // stockinette part

Row 7 (RS), S2): sl1, k to end
Row 8 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end   // garter ridge

Row 9 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 10 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end   // stockinette part

... while I did decreases at the beginning and end of every 10th row.

Then finish with the same "ribbing" you did on your left sleeve and bind off (loosely).

In my case that meant knitting 4 ridges of garter stitch alternating the skeins.


Collar

Pick up stitches all along the inner edge on the left front, the neck and the right edge in front (see green line in figure 1 above).

Knit (back and forth) 3 ridges of garter stitch.

Calculate the size of your button holes and decide where you want to put the buttons, i.e. decide on the distance between two buttons and calculate the appropriate number of stitches.

Knit up to the 1st button hole, BO the number of stitches for 1 button, k to the next button hole, BO the number of stitches for 1 button

 

The buttons I bought had a diameter of 2,5cm, so I decided that I'd make my button holes 4 sts wide and I decided that I'd place them within the lowest 20 cm, i.e 40 sts, 

So I knitted the "botton hole ridge" as follows:

sl1, k7, BO4, k10, BO4, k10 BO4, k to end; 

sl1, k up to first BO, CO4, k10, CO4, k10, CO4, k to end

Knit 3 more ridges of garter stitch, BO during the last row.

Finishing

I prefer to block the finished piece (sewn up) rather than the flattened out version. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages.

Sew the side underarm seams together and the buttons on. Weave in ends.

Sew on buttons and block the piece.